The C Word – July Wrap Up

This month has had it’s ups and downs.  Dealing not only with physical issues but mental and emotional ones as well.  Toss in a little family drama and home repairs.  It’s been quite a month.

George has had problems with his belly not properly draining for a good portion of the month.  Not sure what is going on.  He asks for the drain to be put on frequently because he is feeling full or bloated, yet nothing comes out.  I think when he has a buildup, it creates other issues for him such as the need to use the bathroom frequently. 

He’s exhausted more and more with little energy to expend.  He’ll fall asleep at least twice a day for one or two hours.  He won’t hear anything going on during that time. 

His fistula is beginning to put out more mucin and such.  The hole might even be wider than before. 

Mentally he is having a hard time with all of this.  It is worrisome.  Wondering what is going on and the mind goes to dark places.

During the month there has been some family drama going on – I think we’ve resolved these things.

Home issues have arisen.  Another problem with the garage door.  I thought it might be something covered under warranty with the new spring we had installed in early June, so I called the same company.  The tech came out and spent 45 minutes trying to figure out why the door wouldn’t shut completely.  I asked if it could be something with the new spring and he said no.  He was not able to fix it and said “maybe the door is broken inside so when the door is closing the energy is not properly dispersing…”  I called another company out to fix it and their tech figured out the problem within 30 seconds and had the door fixed in two minutes! AND it had to do with the new spring which needed an adjustment!  Arghhh!!

We also found out that our house phone was not working when someone said they’d tried to call but no one answered.  I looked at the handset and noticed a “Line in use” display.  This had happened before. I went around and unplugged/replugged phones and couldn’t get that message to clear.  I eventually got around to calling AT&T and the earliest schedule time was a week later.  The tech found an issue at the box (a block away) and fixed the lines.  We have absolutely no idea how long the phones had not been working (as we don’t use the land line often) but estimate the line went perhaps as long ago as June 1.  (Should have noticed that we weren’t getting robocalls!!)  Interestingly within a few hours the phone rang.  It was someone from hospice which puzzles me as I have told them that my cell should be the default phone number!  Of course, since then we’ve gotten a robocall – though not as much as before so maybe the two months of no answer got our number removed – at least for the short term.

On the upside, we had visits from old friends this month.  My former pastor, James, and his wife came for a visit when they were in the area for a wedding (he lives in Arizona now).  Steve and Vernita, who moved to Washington last December, also came for a visit while they were in town.  Stan, a long-time friend of George’s, paid a visit.  George had some phone calls from former co-workers.  I was able to go out for a lunch and a dinner with friends as well as take in a movie with Cathy.  Earlier in the month (or maybe it was in June), we got a chance to see our friends Rob and Angie who were visiting from Tennessee.  I have to remember to be thankful for these things. 

I am looking forward to my brother and sister-in-law coming from Thailand for a visit in August.  Since I have a list of projects on my to-do list, I am going to enlist help in getting one or two things checked off my list with their help.  Planning a family barbecue with the kids.  I feel bad for George because there is not a thing we can barbecue that he can eat.  He used to be the best grill cooker, making tasty steaks and chicken.  It’s been a very long time since he’s had a burger and longer still since he had steak.

As we move into August, we are all too aware that things are changing.  He believes one of the tumors is now the size of a baseball.  He feels the tumor burden more and more.  He is more and more tired.  These will continue to get worse.  We do our best to enjoy moments.  Sometimes it’s when I’m changing his dressings and we find ourselves laughing about something we heard or saw – or we just get plain silly.  Sometimes it’s when we are settling in for the night. I want to remember these moments – even if I don’t remember exactly what we were laughing about.